Like everyone, I’m partial to fast food every so often, its quick and convenient and usually very tasty but more often than not, it’s not very healthy. So what if you could make your own alternative fast food recipe at home? When I was asked to develop a healthy ‘fast food alternative’ for the Ramsay Health Care Campaign I thought it would be a great chance to experiment. Trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle is very important, and choosing to eat well is a part of this, BUT it doesn’t mean that food has to be boring.
One such fast food found all around the country is the iconic ‘Kebab’! Usually wither chicken or donor meat with a big greasy naan bread and spicy sauces, it’s tasty but comes with a calorific price tag! This recipe for a healthier twist on the chicken kebab aims to be just as tasty but a bit better for the waistline.
I’ve made wholewheat flatbreads from scratch to replace the bread, a similar shredded style salad with a mango salsa and yoghurt dressing as well as the spicy marinaded chicken. If you wish you could substitute the chcicken thighs for lamb, and alter the cooking times slightly. You could also cook them on the BBQ in the summer too.
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 8 skinless and boneless chicken thighs cut into rough 1-2 inch pieces
- 2 red peppers deseeded and cut into rough 1 inch pieces
- 2 yellow peppers deseeded and cut into rough 1 inch pieces
- 200g natural yoghurt
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- zest 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp sumac
For the Flatbreads
- 400g wholemeal flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 200ml warm water
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp baking powder
For the Salad
- 1/4 large white cabbage, shredded
- 3 carrots cut into julienne or grated
- 1/2 a cucumber, deseeded and cut into julienne
- 6 radishes, finely sliced and cut into matchsticks
For the Salsa
- I medium ripe Mango, peeled and cubed
- 3 spring onions, finely sliced
- 1 small red chilli, finely chopped
- Handful of coriander, chopped
- Juice 1 Lime
For the Dressing
- 250g natural yoghurt
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh coriander
Method
- Prepare the marinade for the chicken – combine the yoghurt, spices and lemon zest and mix well in to a paste. Spread over the chicken pieces in a non metallic bowl, cover and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour, overnight if you get chance.
- Next prepare all the cold and salad items. Firstly the mango salsa, simply combine the chopped ingredients in a bowl – mango, spring onion and chilli and then cover with the juice of a lime and mix. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
- Make the yoghurt by mixing the fresh mint and herbs into the yoghurt and stirring well. Cover and refrigerate.
- Prepare the vegetables for the shredded salad, mix the colourful items together, cover and place int he fridge until you are ready to serve.
- To make the flatbread dough, mix the flour, baking powder and salt together then add the oil. Slowly add the water and bring together into a dough, kneading as you go. Cover and leave in a warm place to prove for 30 minutes.
- When you are ready to cook, make the chicken skewers. We used metallic skewers, which get hot when in the oven so handle with care. Thread 4 skewers with the chicken, popping a piece of red and yellow pepper after each couple of chicken pieces until you have 4 colourful kebabs.
- Split your flatbread dough in 4 large, or 8 small roughly equal balls and roll each out in any desired shape until about 5mm thick. Cook each for about 2mins on each side in a hot frying or griddle pan. Keep warm until needed under a cloth or in a low oven.
- On a large hot griddle pan drizzled with a touch of olive oil, sear each kebab for 30-60s on both sides so it takes on a nice charred golden color.
- Put the kebabs on a warmed baking tray at 200 degrees C and cook for 15 minutes. Always check the meat is cooked before eating.
- To serve pile the shredded salad onto the hot flatbreads and top with a chicken kebab per person and let people add their own salsa and dressing and maybe a squirt of hot chilli sauce!
Happy Eating
